THE mother of a baby girl who was born prematurely at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd and died nine months later has said she feels “at peace” now that the inquest into her daughter’s death has concluded. Annie-Jo Mountcastle died at her family’s home in Llanfair Talhaiarn on November 17, 2017, having been born at 28 weeks’ gestation on February 5 at the Bodelwyddan hospital. Last Wednesday (July 10), an inquest in Ruthin ruled that diesel fumes emanating from construction works at Glan Clwyd while Annie-Jo was kept there did not contribute to her death.
Instead, coroner John Gittins recorded a conclusion of death arising from natural causes, and a cause of death of sudden infant death syndrome, contributed to by bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD – chronic lung disease). Amy Dean, Annie-Jo’s mother, thanked Mr Gittins (senior coroner for North Wales East and Central) and all involved with the inquest process for their “hard work”. She said: “I just want to say thank you so much to the coroner for his investigation, and everyone involved in it.
“I know it took a long time, but he did it fully and thoroughly, so I just really want to thank him for his hard work. “I feel at peace with it now; I thank him so much for doing such an in-depth job. “It’s amazing how much people have done for Annie-Jo and us as a family, when they didn’t have to.
” During the inquest, it was heard Annie-Jo and her twin sister, Florence-Rose, developed BPD after their births. Ms Dean, sa.